Glymphatic system dysfunction in patients with major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe mental sickness. Yet, its neural mechanisms remain unclear. The present study aimed to analyze the different degrees of glymphatic system activity between patients with MDD and healthy controls using diffusion tension imaging (DTI) along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS). The results showed that the patients with MDD had glymphatic system dysfunction, which increases anxiety. Thus, the ALPS index is expected to be a biomarker for monitoring changes in glymphatic system function in MDD patients.